Introduced Version
Senate Bill 700 History
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Senate Bill No. 700
(By Senators Tomblin, Mr. President, and Caruth, by Request of
the Executive)
________
[Introduced February 18, 2008 ; referred to the Committee on
Energy, Industry and Mining.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §22-3-7 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended; to amend and reenact §22-6-22 of said code;
and to amend and reenact §22-
21-3 of said code, all relating
to the recording of certain geologic information; requiring
the filing of said information with the Department of
Environmental Protection and the State Geological and Economic
Survey; providing for the filing of core samples with the
State Geological and Economic Survey; and providing for
confidentiality of certain geologic information.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That
§22-3-7
of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted; that §22-6-22
of said code be amended and
reenacted; and that §22-
21-3 of said code be amended and reenacted,
all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 3. SURFACE COAL MINING AND RECLAMATION ACT
.
§22-3-7. Notice of intention to prospect, requirements therefor;
bonding; director's authority to deny or limit;
prospecting report to be filed; core samples to be
filed; postponement of reclamation; prohibited acts;
exceptions.
(a) Any person intending to prospect for coal in an area not
covered by a surface-mining permit, in order to determine the
location, quantity or quality of a natural coal deposit, making
feasibility studies or for any other purpose, shall file with the
director, at least fifteen days prior to commencement of any
disturbance associated with prospecting, a notice of intention to
prospect, which notice shall include a description of the
prospecting area, the period of supposed prospecting and such other
information as required by rules promulgated pursuant to this
section: Provided, That prior to the commencement of such
prospecting, the director may issue an order denying or limiting
permission to prospect where the director finds that prospecting
operations will damage or destroy a unique natural area, or will
cause serious harm to water quality, or that the operator has
failed to satisfactorily reclaim other prospecting sites, or that
there has been an abuse of prospecting by previous prospecting
operations in the area.
(b) Notice of intention to prospect shall be made in writing on forms prescribed by the director and shall be signed and
verified by the applicant. The notice shall be accompanied by (1)
a United States geological survey topographic map showing by proper
marking the crop line and the name, where known, of the seam or
seams to be prospected, and (2) a bond, or cash, or collateral
securities or certificates of the same type and form and in the
same manner as provided in section eleven of this article, in the
amount of five hundred dollars per acre or fraction thereof for the
total estimated disturbed area. If such bond is used, it shall be
payable to the state of West Virginia and conditioned that the
operator faithfully perform the requirements of this article as
they relate to backfilling and revegetation of the disturbed area.
(c) Any person prospecting under the provisions of this
section shall ensure that such prospecting operation is conducted
in accordance with the performance standards in section thirteen of
this article for all lands disturbed in explorations, including
excavations, roads, drill holes, and the removal of necessary
facilities and equipment.
(d) Any person prospecting under the provisions of this
section shall file with the director a report which shall include
the following information:
(1) the location of any test boring or core sample drilling;
(2) an accurate log of any drill holes depicting (A) the
character, depth and thickness of geological formations encountered, (B) the location of subsurface water, if encountered,
(C) the depth and thickness of any coal or rider seams, mineral
beds, or brine and oil and gas bearing formations, (D) and such
other information as the director may require.
The director may promulgate such reasonable rules in
accordance with article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code,
as he or she may deem necessary to ensure that the aforesaid
information is accurately recorded: Provided, That the director
shall not require logging by the use of an electrical logging
device: Provided, however,
That if electrical or other mechanical
or geophysical logs are recorded, they shall be filed with the
state geological and economic survey. Any person filing a report
pursuant to this subsection shall, within thirty days, provide a
copy of said report to the state geological and economic survey.
(e) If a person prospecting under the provisions of this
section takes core samples, a complete set of cores, either whole
or at least quarter slabs, correctly labeled and identified as to
depth shall, upon written request of the state geological and
economic survey, be filed therewith.
(d)(f) Information submitted to the director or the state
geological and economic survey pursuant to this section as
confidential, concerning trade secrets or privileged commercial or
financial information, which relates to the competitive rights of
the person or entity intended to prospect the described area, that concerns trade secrets or privileged commercial or financial
information, and which relates to the competitive rights of the
person or entities prospecting the described area,
is not available
for public examination and shall be kept confidential by the
director and the state geological and economic survey for one year
following the date the information is filed, unless the prospector
gives written permission to release such information at an earlier
date. For good cause shown, the director may extend the period of
confidentiality for one year: Provided, That the total period of
confidentiality shall not exceed three years. This subsection
shall not be construed to prohibit the publication or release
of
information generated as a part of the minerals mapping or
geographic information system, whether in the form of aggregated
statistics, maps, articles, reports, professional talks or
otherwise, presented in accordance with generally accepted
practices and in a manner so as to preclude the identification or
determination of information about a particular prospector.
(e)(g) Any person who conducts any prospecting activities
which substantially disturb the natural land surface in violation
of this section or rules issued pursuant thereto is subject to the
provisions of sections sixteen and seventeen of this article.
(f)(h) No operator shall remove more than two hundred fifty
tons of coal without the specific written approval of the director.
Such approval shall be requested by the operator on forms prescribed by the director. The director shall promulgate rules
governing such operations and setting forth information required in
the application for approval. Each such application shall be
accompanied by a two thousand dollar filing fee.
(g)(i) The bond accompanying said notice of intention to
prospect shall be released by the director when the operator
demonstrates that a permanent species of vegetative cover is established.
(h)(j) In the event an operator desires to mine the area
currently being prospected, and has requested and received an
appropriate surface mine application (S.M.A.) number, the director
may permit the postponement of the reclamation of the area
prospected. Any part of a prospecting operation, where reclamation
has not been postponed as provided above, shall be reclaimed within
a period of three months from disturbance.
(i)(k) For the purpose of this section, the word "prospect" or
"prospecting" does not include core drilling related solely to
taxation or highway construction.
ARTICLE 6. OFFICE OF OIL AND GAS; OIL AND GAS WELLS;
ADMINISTRATION; ENFORCEMENT.
§22-6-22. Well log to be filed; contents; authority to promulgate
rules; core samples to be filed.
(a) Within a reasonable time after the completion of the
drilling of a well or the completion of core sample drilling, the
well operator shall file with the director an accurate log. Such log shall contain a report which shall include the following
information:
(1) the location of any test boring or core sample drilling
;
(2) the character, depth and thickness of geological
formations encountered, including fresh water, coal seams, mineral
beds, brine and oil and gas bearing formations; and
(3) such other information as the director may require to
effectuate the purposes of this chapter.
The director may promulgate such reasonable rules in
accordance with article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code,
as he or she may deem necessary to ensure that the character, depth
and thickness of geological formations encountered are accurately
logged: Provided, That the director shall not require logging by
the use of an electrical logging device: Provided, however, That
if electrical or other mechanical or geophysical logs are recorded
in the well, they shall be filed with the state geological and
economic survey. Any person filing a report pursuant to this
subsection shall, within thirty days, provide a copy of said report
to the state geological and economic survey
.
(b) If a well operator takes core samples or well cuttings, a
complete set of cores, either whole or at least quarter slabs,
and/or well cuttings correctly labeled and identified as to depth
shall, upon written request of the state geological and economic
survey, be filed therewith.
(c) Information submitted to the director or the state
geological and economic survey pursuant to this section that
concerns trade secrets or privileged commercial or financial
information, and which relates to the competitive rights of the
person or entities conducting well operations or core sample
drilling,
is not available for public examination and shall be kept
confidential by the director and the state geological and economic
survey for one year following the date the information is filed,
unless the well operator gives written permission to release such
information at an earlier date. For good cause shown, the director
may extend the period of confidentiality for one year: Provided,
That the total period of confidentiality shall not exceed three
years.
This subsection shall not be construed to prohibit the
publication or release
of information generated as a part of the
minerals mapping or geographic information system, whether in the
form of aggregated statistics, maps, articles, reports,
professional talks or otherwise, presented in accordance with
generally accepted practices and in a manner so as to preclude the
identification or determination of information about a particular
well operator.
ARTICLE 21. COALBED METHANE WELLS AND UNITS.
§22-21-3. Application of article; exclusions; application of
chapter twenty-two-b to coalbed methane wells.
(a) The provisions of this article apply to: (1) all lands in this state under which a coalbed is located, including any lands
owned or administered by the state or any agency or subdivision
thereof; and (2) any coalbed methane well.
(b) This article does not apply to or affect: (1) any well
otherwise permitted, approved or regulated under articles six,
seven, eight, nine or ten of this chapter or article eight, chapter
twenty-two-c of this code; (2) any ventilation fan, vent hole,
mining apparatus, or other facility utilized solely for the purpose
of venting any mine or mine area; or (3) the ventilation of any
mine or mine area or degasification of any coal seam for the mining
of coal.
(c) This article does not apply to or affect subsurface
boreholes drilled from the mine face of an underground mine, except
that the provisions of sections fifteen, sixteen, seventeen,
eighteen and nineteen shall apply.
(d) To the extent that coalbed methane wells are similar to
wells, as defined in section one, article six of this chapter, and
the production of coalbed methane is similar to the production of
natural gas, coalbed methane wells shall be treated as wells and
coalbed methane treated as natural gas and subject to the following
sections of article six of this chapter:
(1) The provisions of section three pertaining to the findings
and orders of inspectors concerning violations, determination of
reasonable time for abatement, extensions of time for abatement, special inspections, notice of findings and orders;
(2) The provisions of section four providing for the review of
findings and orders by the chief, special inspection, annulment,
revision of order and notice;
(3) The provisions of section five providing for the
requirements of findings, orders and notices; posting of findings
and orders; and judicial review of final orders of the chief;
(4) The provisions of section twenty-one providing for
protective devices -- installation of freshwater casings;
(5) The provisions of section twenty-two providing for a well
log report and core samples to be filed, contents, and authority to
promulgate regulations, and confidentiality. In addition to the
requirements of such section, the operator shall certify that the
well was drilled and completed as shown on the well plat required
for a coalbed methane well, or in the alternative, file a revised
well plat showing the actual location of the well and the coal
seams in which the well is completed for production. Such log and
certificate shall be served on all coal owners and operators who
must be named in the permit application under section six of this
article;
(6) The provisions of section twenty-eight providing for
supervision by the chief over drilling and reclamation operations,
complaints, hearings and appeals;
(7) The provisions of section twenty-nine providing for special reclamation funds and fees;
(8) The provisions of section thirty providing for reclamation
requirements;
(9) The provisions of section thirty-one providing for
preventing waste of gas, plan of operation required for wasting gas
in process of producing oil and rejection thereof;
(10) The provisions of section thirty-two providing for the
right of adjacent owner or operator to prevent waste of gas and
recovery of costs;
(11) The provisions of section thirty-three providing for
restraining waste;
(12) The provisions of section thirty-four providing for
offenses and penalties;
(13) The provisions of section thirty-five providing for civil
action for contamination or deprivation of freshwater source or
supply and presumption;
(14) The provisions of section thirty-six providing for
declaration of notice by owners and lessees of coal seams and
setting out the form of such declaration; and
(15) The provisions of section thirty-nine providing for
injunctive relief.
In addition to the foregoing and subject to the same
qualifications, the provisions of article ten of this chapter shall
apply to coalbed methane wells. Any well which is abandoned or presumed to be abandoned under the provisions of this article shall
be treated as an abandoned well under said article ten. In
addition, the provisions of article seven of this chapter shall
apply to permits issued pursuant to this article.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require coal prospectors
to record certain geological information and to report said
information to the department of environmental protection. The
bill also provides for the sharing of geological information
recorded by coal and well operators with the state geological and
economic survey. Finally, the bill provides for the filing of core
samples taken by coal prospectors and well operators and the
submission of said samples to the state geological and economic
survey.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.